| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Jez" |
| Date: |
10 Jan 2005 04:59:02 PM |
| Object: |
OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
This looks a fun idea...
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/01/conservatives_p.html
Still thinking about election fraud in Ohio? Worried that voting
machines in Florida may have been hacked? If some Republicans get their
way, there may soon be an official diagnosis of what really ails you:
political paranoia disorder.
"Political Paranoia" to be included in next edition of Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
By Hermione Slatkin, Medical Correspondent
NEW YORK, NY—When Zacharia Goodman recently sought out the help of a
therapist, it was no mystery as to what was ailing him. The 27-year-old
copy editor was so consumed by his belief that President George W. Bush
stole the recent election that he was having trouble sleeping,
completing rudimentary tasks at work, and carrying on conversations
about topics not related to politics.
The therapist he consulted wrote Goodman a prescription for the social
anxiety drug Paxil and encouraged him to spend less time reading
left-wing blogs and listening to Air America.
This particular story has a happy ending; Goodman admits that he's
already far less irritating to be around than he was just a few weeks
ago. But countless paranoids just like him may be going untreated, say
mental health professionals. The reason: the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM presently excludes political paranoia
from its 933 pages of symptoms, diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
And with thousands of individuals across the country seeking therapy in
the wake of President Bush's electoral victory, some mental health
professionals fear that a diagnostic crisis may be in the offing.
Democrat or just demented?
Now a group of Republican lawmakers is hoping that they can do something
about the problem. When the 109th Congress convenes in Washington in
January, Senator Bill Frist, the first practicing physician elected to
the Senate since 1928, plans to file a bill that would define "political
paranoia" as a mental disorder, paving the way for individuals who
suffer from paranoid delusions regarding voter fraud, political
persecution and FBI surveillance to receive Medicare reimbursement for
any psychiatric treatment they receive.
Rick Smith, a spokesman for Senator Frist, says that the measure has a
good chance of passing—something that can only help a portion of the
population that is suffering significant distress.
"If you're still convinced that President Bush won the election because
Republicans figured out a way to hack into electronic voting machines,
you've obviously got a problem," says Smith. "If we can figure out a way
to ease your suffering by getting you into therapy and onto medication,
that's something that we hope the entire 109th Congress will support."
A meeting of the minds
Of course, while Congress can pass laws defining mental disorders, the
ultimate decision regarding the inclusion of political paranoia disorder
in the next version of the DSM isn't up to legislators but to
psychiatrists. The entire assembly of the American Psychiatric
Association (APA) must approve the addition of the disorder when that
body convenes in Atlanta in May.
This won't be the first time that the APA has bowed to political
pressure to add or delete common mental disorders. In 1973, the APA
removed homosexuality from the massive psychiatric desk reference. The
1987 publication of DSM-III-R deleted ego-dystonic homosexuality as well.
As for the likelihood that therapists will soon be able to diagnose
"political paranoia" in the patients who come to see them, Zacharia
Goodman says that that moment can't come quickly enough.
"I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, my girlfriend left me, and I still
didn't know what was wrong with me," says Goodman, who now attends a
support group for political paranoids in addition to taking a daily dose
of Paxil. "Now I can read the news and stay calm. I'm even planning to
watch the inauguration on TV."
_____________________________________________________________________________
Ho Hum !!
--
Jez
'Realism is seductive because once you have accepted the reasonable
notion that you should base your actions on reality, you are too often
led to accept, without much questioning, someone else's version of what
that reality is. It is a crucial act of independent thinking to be
skeptical of someone else's description of reality.'-
Howard Zinn
NFS Underground2, Americas Army And MOH-PA
.
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| User: "Ike" |
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| Title: Re: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 02:48:40 AM |
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"Jez" <iced_spear@NODAMNSPAMpipex.com> wrote in message
news:JqqdnYkvHLrSKX_cRVnyuA@pipex.net...
This looks a fun idea...
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/01/conservatives_p.html
Still thinking about election fraud in Ohio? Worried that voting
machines in Florida may have been hacked? If some Republicans get their
way, there may soon be an official diagnosis of what really ails you:
political paranoia disorder.
"Political Paranoia" to be included in next edition of Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
By Hermione Slatkin, Medical Correspondent
NEW YORK, NY—When Zacharia Goodman recently sought out the help of a
therapist, it was no mystery as to what was ailing him. The 27-year-old
copy editor was so consumed by his belief that President George W. Bush
stole the recent election that he was having trouble sleeping,
completing rudimentary tasks at work, and carrying on conversations
about topics not related to politics.
The therapist he consulted wrote Goodman a prescription for the social
anxiety drug Paxil and encouraged him to spend less time reading
left-wing blogs and listening to Air America.
This particular story has a happy ending; Goodman admits that he's
already far less irritating to be around than he was just a few weeks
ago. But countless paranoids just like him may be going untreated, say
mental health professionals. The reason: the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM presently excludes political paranoia
from its 933 pages of symptoms, diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
And with thousands of individuals across the country seeking therapy in
the wake of President Bush's electoral victory, some mental health
professionals fear that a diagnostic crisis may be in the offing.
Democrat or just demented?
Now a group of Republican lawmakers is hoping that they can do something
about the problem. When the 109th Congress convenes in Washington in
January, Senator Bill Frist, the first practicing physician elected to
the Senate since 1928, plans to file a bill that would define "political
paranoia" as a mental disorder, paving the way for individuals who
suffer from paranoid delusions regarding voter fraud, political
persecution and FBI surveillance to receive Medicare reimbursement for
any psychiatric treatment they receive.
Rick Smith, a spokesman for Senator Frist, says that the measure has a
good chance of passing—something that can only help a portion of the
population that is suffering significant distress.
"If you're still convinced that President Bush won the election because
Republicans figured out a way to hack into electronic voting machines,
you've obviously got a problem," says Smith. "If we can figure out a way
to ease your suffering by getting you into therapy and onto medication,
that's something that we hope the entire 109th Congress will support."
A meeting of the minds
Of course, while Congress can pass laws defining mental disorders, the
ultimate decision regarding the inclusion of political paranoia disorder
in the next version of the DSM isn't up to legislators but to
psychiatrists. The entire assembly of the American Psychiatric
Association (APA) must approve the addition of the disorder when that
body convenes in Atlanta in May.
This won't be the first time that the APA has bowed to political
pressure to add or delete common mental disorders. In 1973, the APA
removed homosexuality from the massive psychiatric desk reference. The
1987 publication of DSM-III-R deleted ego-dystonic homosexuality as well.
As for the likelihood that therapists will soon be able to diagnose
"political paranoia" in the patients who come to see them, Zacharia
Goodman says that that moment can't come quickly enough.
"I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, my girlfriend left me, and I still
didn't know what was wrong with me," says Goodman, who now attends a
support group for political paranoids in addition to taking a daily dose
of Paxil. "Now I can read the news and stay calm. I'm even planning to
watch the inauguration on TV."
____________________________________________________________________________
_
Ho Hum !!
Oboy!! When I can afford therapy won't come a moment too soon. Murdicare
finally going to help me.
--
The argument that everything had a Creator because it's too complicated, is
about as reasonable as saying that it couldn't have been created since it's
too complicated.
It's about like saying that a super flea created a dog. Then
the good fleas go to a great dog in the sky, while the bad unbelieving fleas
are scratched off into a super rug to be forever hungry. If you think dogs
weren't created by a Great Flea then you are an afleaist.
.
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| User: "Mark K. Bilbo" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 03:58:32 PM |
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In our last episode <JqqdnYkvHLrSKX_cRVnyuA@pipex.net>, Jez lept out of
the bushes shouting:
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
Don't laugh *too much.
You know the Soviets actually *did declare opposition to the state as a
mark of insanity for which you needed treatment.
So don't put it past the neo-Soviets (aka "neo-conservatives"). They might
*like the idea...
--
Mark K. Bilbo - a.a. #1423
EAC Department of Linguistic Subversion
Alt-atheism website at: http://www.alt-atheism.org
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true,
by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
-- Seneca the Younger
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| User: "Christopher A. Lee" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 04:00:05 PM |
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On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 09:58:32 -0600, "Mark K. Bilbo"
<alt-atheism@org.webmaster> wrote:
In our last episode <JqqdnYkvHLrSKX_cRVnyuA@pipex.net>, Jez lept out of
the bushes shouting:
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
Don't laugh *too much.
You know the Soviets actually *did declare opposition to the state as a
mark of insanity for which you needed treatment.
A whistle-blowing sergeant in Iraq was treated as a psychiatric
patient.
So don't put it past the neo-Soviets (aka "neo-conservatives"). They might
*like the idea...
.
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| User: "Mark K. Bilbo" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 05:52:54 PM |
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In our last episode <stt7u0pm56rsgu016ggqn0grrnl86m53g3@4ax.com>,
Christopher A. Lee lept out of the bushes shouting:
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 09:58:32 -0600, "Mark K. Bilbo"
<alt-atheism@org.webmaster> wrote:
In our last episode <JqqdnYkvHLrSKX_cRVnyuA@pipex.net>, Jez lept out of
the bushes shouting:
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
Don't laugh *too much.
You know the Soviets actually *did declare opposition to the state as a
mark of insanity for which you needed treatment.
A whistle-blowing sergeant in Iraq was treated as a psychiatric patient.
Uh huh.
--
Mark K. Bilbo - a.a. #1423
EAC Department of Linguistic Subversion
Alt-atheism website at: http://www.alt-atheism.org
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true,
by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
-- Seneca the Younger
.
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
10 Jan 2005 06:11:31 PM |
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Jez <iced_spear@NODAMNSPAMpipex.com> wrote in
news:JqqdnYkvHLrSKX_cRVnyuA@pipex.net:
This looks a fun idea...
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/01/conservatives_p.html
Still thinking about election fraud in Ohio? Worried that voting
machines in Florida may have been hacked? If some Republicans get
their way, there may soon be an official diagnosis of what really ails
you: political paranoia disorder.
"Political Paranoia" to be included in next edition of Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
http://www.democracy-project.com/archives/000997.html
"...* Ahmad Al-Qloushi, Dissident Arab Gets the Treatment, FrontPage:
Mr. Al-Qloushi is a Kuwati immigrant enrolled at Foothills College in
California. He loves the U.S. for saving his country from Iraq, and was
amazed when his history professor attacked America daily. Even more
remarkable was his final exam question:
The final exam consisted solely of one required essay: "Dye and Zeigler
contend that the Constitution of the United States was not ‘ordained and
established’ by ‘the people’ as we have so often been led to believe.
They contend instead that it was written by a small educated and wealthy
elite in America who were representative of powerful economic and
political interests. Analyze the US constitution (original document),
and show how its formulation excluded the majority of the people living
in America at that time, and how it was dominated by America's elite
interest."
But he was even more amazed when his prof., one Joseph Woolcock, told
Ahmad that he needed "regular psychotherapy" and proceeded to enforce
his decision to harass Ahmad by stating (according to the student's
FrontPage story) "that he would visit the Dean of International
Admissions (who has the power to take away student visas) to make sure I
received regular psychological treatment." The nurse deemed him sane,
although there are no reports on whether or not Prof. Woolcook has
sought treatment. He did, however, file a grievance against Ahmad. You
can't make it up.
Ahmad is now president of the Foothills chapter of College Republicans.
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Support bacteria! That's all the culture many people will ever have.
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| User: "Nick Roberts" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
10 Jan 2005 08:21:15 PM |
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Jez <iced_spear@NODAMNSPAMpipex.com> wrote:
This looks a fun idea...
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
Obviously, there are many of us who would welcome the day when religious
paranoia is recognised, and the courts are able to hand down orders for
treatment.
Better still, when laws are passed outlawing the use of such indoctrinal
techniques as the repetition of messages, collective singing of songs
encompassing messages, and the teaching of unsubstantiable doctrines to
children (and the mentally vulnerable in general). Things that churches
typically do, in other words.
--
Nick Roberts
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| User: "Jez" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 12:23:22 AM |
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Nick Roberts wrote:
Jez <iced_spear@NODAMNSPAMpipex.com> wrote:
This looks a fun idea...
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
Obviously, there are many of us who would welcome the day when religious
paranoia is recognised, and the courts are able to hand down orders for
treatment.
Not me sorry.
Believe what you want.....isn't that freedom ?
As much as I may dislike Religion...people are free to believe in it....
Not coerced ....but with the use of their own minds.
But, of course, I doubt anyone who thinks for themselves would become a
believer in a 'God'
Better still, when laws are passed outlawing the use of such indoctrinal
techniques as the repetition of messages, collective singing of songs
encompassing messages, and the teaching of unsubstantiable doctrines to
children (and the mentally vulnerable in general). Things that churches
typically do, in other words.
Not only Churches..........
--
Jez
'Realism is seductive because once you have accepted the reasonable
notion that you should base your actions on reality, you are too often
led to accept, without much questioning, someone else's version of what
that reality is. It is a crucial act of independent thinking to be
skeptical of someone else's description of reality.'-
Howard Zinn
NFS Underground2, Americas Army And MOH-PA
.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 02:22:22 AM |
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On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 00:23:22 +0000, Jez
<iced_spear@NODAMNSPAMpipex.com> said in alt.atheism:
Believe what you want.....isn't that freedom ?
Yes, but religion is believe what you were coerced into believing.
--
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious
conviction."
- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
(random sig, produced by SigChanger)
rukbat at verizon dot net
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| User: "Jez" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 02:21:04 PM |
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Al Klein wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 00:23:22 +0000, Jez
<iced_spear@NODAMNSPAMpipex.com> said in alt.atheism:
Believe what you want.....isn't that freedom ?
Yes, but religion is believe what you were coerced into believing.
Sadly that seems to be the case generally.
--
Jez
'Realism is seductive because once you have accepted the reasonable
notion that you should base your actions on reality, you are too often
led to accept, without much questioning, someone else's version of what
that reality is. It is a crucial act of independent thinking to be
skeptical of someone else's description of reality.'-
Howard Zinn
NFS Underground2, Americas Army And MOH-PA
.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Political Paranoia...hmm |
11 Jan 2005 08:53:28 PM |
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On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 16:59:02 +0000, Jez
<iced_spear@NODAMNSPAMpipex.com> wrote:
This looks a fun idea...
Conservatives Push for Psychiatric Diagnosis of 'Loony Leftists'
http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/01/conservatives_p.html
peals of laughter
[]
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
.
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